college japanese course what to expect

When you get in a Japanese Language and Culture Program, expect to attend lots of field trips and festivals. The JaLS Group prioritized learning while having fun. Along with my batchmates, I enjoyed learning kendo and sushi-making, which seemed like activities that gave us a break from our classes.

Full Answer

Is learning Japanese hard in college?

Even the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State professes that three of the four hardest languages for English speakers to learn are Asian: Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

What are Japanese classes like?

Full-time Japanese language students study for 5 days a week, typically half a day Monday to Friday, either in a morning or afternoon class. Japanese language class schedules are prescribed by each school depending on their schedule availability and language level of the student. Japanese language class sessions are ...

What do Japanese students learn in Japanese class?

Students also learn traditional Japanese arts like shodo (calligraphy) and haiku. Shodo involves dipping a brush in ink and using it to write kanji (characters that are used in several East Asian countries and have their own meanings) and kana (phonetic characters derived from kanji) in an artistic style.

How long does it take to learn Japanese to go to college?

According to the US Department of State, Japanese is one of the hardest languages for English natives to learn. It doesn't have many similarities in structure to English. They estimate it takes 88 weeks of learning, or 2200 hours, to reach fluency.

How many hours do Japanese students study?

Japanese students devote approximately two hours per weekday to homework, and about three hours on Sunday.

How many hours do Japanese students sleep?

It could also be seen that students tend to sleep longer than company workers. Male company workers indicated to need the least amount of sleep, averaging 6 hours and 9 minutes, while the average student indicated to sleep for 6 hours and 24 minutes.

Is school in Japan harder than America?

In general, one of the biggest differences I found between the American and Japanese education systems is that students in America are expected to actively participate in their own learning. Thus, American universities are generally much more rigorous than Japanese universities.

How old are 3rd years in Japan?

School levelsAgeGradeEducational establishments12-131 (7th)Junior high school/Lower secondary school (中学校 chūgakkō) Compulsory Education13-142 (8th)14-153 (9th)15-161 (10th)Senior high school/Upper secondary school (高等学校 kōtōgakkō, abbr. 高校 kōkō)18 more rows

How long are Japanese classes?

Public schools in Japan have classes five days a week, from Monday to Friday. There are also schools that have classes on Saturday. In junior high and high schools, there are six class periods each day, typically lasting 50 minutes for each.

Is studying Japanese worth it?

Is learning Japanese worth it for education? Yes, of course. In Asia, Japan is the preferable place for education. Students from different countries around the world come to Japan for higher education.

Why is learning Japanese so hard?

The Japanese language is considered one of the most difficult to learn by many English speakers. With three separate writing systems, an opposite sentence structure to English, and a complicated hierarchy of politeness, it's decidedly complex.

What Jlpt level is fluent?

The level of N1 essentially means that you are fluent in Japanese, both written and spoken. While this may be extremely difficult to achieve, someone at this level should have absolutely no issues conducting daily life in Japan.

Do I even need to take an interview?

First and foremost, while the school you are attempting to join may require you to take an interview with them, this is not always the case! Take JaLS, we don’t have any interview requirement to study Japanese language at a variety of levels from beginner to advanced.

The Placement Test

The placement test is part of any application, and may or may not be part of the interview. Depending on the course you wish to join, it will impact your chances of getting in. Make sure you know what level is required before joining! It’s all about testing your current Japanese level, in order to put you in the right class.

Getting to know your Interview

So you need to take an interview, how do you go about that? First you need to ask what is your interview for? Interviews can be found in all walks of life, and they’re part of any application process, even if it is just answering a few questions on an internet form, but they can often be about easily-predictable things.

Typical Interview Questions

Here are some common questions often found in such interviews for more competitive courses, grouped into common themes for your convenience, and some example ways to answer them:

What does it mean to study abroad in Japan?

A study abroad experience will give you a leg up when applying for a job. It is an impressive part of any resume, and it’ll be no different when you learn Japanese in a Japan program. Employers look for life skills that you learned as a student abroad, as well as indicators of intellectual stamina. In addition to achieving fluency in Japanese, developing the discipline needed for intensive language study molds you as a person. Plus, Japan’s job market has a great demand for qualified graduates. Many Japanese companies have expressed their desire to hire foreigners from Japanese learning institutions.

What is the tradition of Japan?

Tradition is a fundamental force in Japanese life, and it’s enchanting. As a student, you can experience the culture, food, traditions, and fascinating history of Japan (from rustic countryside living to futuristic out-of-this-world technologies) first-hand when you learn Japanese in Japan. You not only learn Japanese in the country of origin; you also have the opportunity to live in the midst of the country’s extensive cultural heritage.

How does immersion school work?

On the other hand, students enrolled in an immersion school are literally immersed in the language they are learning. Most classes are taught in the target language, meaning you would learn Japanese in Japanese. You will be in a completely Japanese-speaking environment with continuous exposure to the new language; it might sound intimidating to learn Japanese in Japanese, but it’ll do wonders for accelerating your learning process.

What is immersion Japanese?

Immersion Japanese classes in Japan are experiential. Learning is hands-on, and often exploratory; even when classes are conducted in a classroom, students come from several different countries and have only the Japanese they are learning as a common language to communicate with each other.

Is learning Japanese safe?

If you’re worried about your security while learning Japanese in Japan, don’t worry! Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, with a very low crime rate. According to a 2014 article from The Japan Times, it has “the second- lowest homicide rate after Iceland and the second-lowest assault rate after Canada.”

Why do Japanese teachers teach?

They’ll teach most or all of your class in Japanese to improve your listening and get you used to hearing natural Japanese. Some things to keep in mind: If you’re in Japan, your teacher might not even speak your first language, which can be a bad thing or a good thing.

What is FluentU?

FluentU takes real-world videos— like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons . If you make Japanese something you enjoy doing and look forward to, studying will become so much easier! 7.

What is role play in a class?

A role-play activity can cover anything from ordering at a restaurant to shopping to making a complaint about something.

Do Japanese junior high students do English presentations?

Japanese junior high school students do English presentations all the time, so as well as giving you essential practice, you can really appreciate how difficult their classes can be! Usually, though, after once or twice, it becomes easier and you’ll start to speak with confidence about things you’re interested in.

Is kanji in the classroom?

Here are some things to remember about classroom and out-of-classroom kanji study: Although it was probably touched upon in your beginner classes, depending on your level, kanji will be much more integrated into your classroom reading.

Is Japanese grammar difficult?

It might be difficult at first and more complex grammar might require some explanation, but the more Japanese you learn, the more you have to separate it from your first language. There may sometimes be new vocabulary words or grammar patterns that don’t translate into English (or your first language) identically.

Is intermediate Japanese similar to beginner?

Although intermediate language lessons are somewhat similar to beginner, there are a few things you have to remember if you’re going to take your Japanese to the next level. Whether you plan to learn online, by yourself or in a class, there are certain rules you can’t avoid. This article is mostly for classroom lessons, ...

How to Find Japanese Course Playlists

It’s quite easy to locate these on the site, once you know where to look! There are two courses of action that you can take, depending on your current language level.

What to Do with Your Japanese Course Playlists

Go one video at a time. You might be surprised by how much information each video contains. Some videos exist to reinforce just a handful of words, while others will give you a plethora of rich new vocabulary to use.

1. A Thorough Intro to Japanese for Newbies

The newbie courses have tons of great basic lessons that are ideal for anybody starting with Japanese from square one.

2. An Elementary Course That Will Get You on Your Feet

The list of courses continues at the Elementary level. It’s all one continuous course that can bring people with no Japanese knowledge whatsoever right out of the newbie stages, into elementary and onward to intermediate.

3. A Crash Course to Life in Japan

All these courses online amount to a virtual simulation of an immersion course in Japan. You won’t just be learning isolated vocabulary and trying to drill it into your head—you’ll be watching Japanese speakers walk around, talk to others, do their thing and naturally use this language in their daily lives.

How many levels of Rocket Japanese?

Who can take this course: Rocket Japanese has three experience levels aimed at different students. The first level starts from the very basics of the Japanese language, and the third is the most advanced. Rocket Japanese has ensured that it has useful content for every skill level.

How many native speakers are there in Japan?

Firstly, let’s state the obvious motivators. Japanese is the ninth most spoken language in the world, with 126 million native speakers globally. Secondly, Japan’s economy is the third-largest in the world, only behind the U.S and China.

What awards did Busuu win?

Busuu has also been awarded tons of awards for its’ efficacy, such as the Bloomberg Business Innovators award, EdTech Breakthrough Award, and the Google Play “Best Apps of 2015” award.

Can you jump in Rocket Japanese?

Rocket Japanese has ensured that it has useful content for every skill level. Therefore, you can just jump right in at any skill level. With that being said, if you are already nearing expert level, then you might find even the advanced courses slightly redundant.

Is JapanesePod101 easy to understand?

To sum it up, though – the lessons on JapanesePod101 are well-structured and easy to understand. Practicing Japanese pronunciation is often overlooked in online courses, but JapanesePod101 is special in this regard as it does an excellent job at covering both Japanese speaking and writing practice. Verdict: JapanesePod101 is an excellent resource ...

Is Rocket Japanese good?

All in all, it is a great service that students tend to love. Verdict: Rocket Japanese provides a balanced learning experience at a reasonable price-point. All the extra features such as voice recognition software, the app, flash cards and offline access definitely help out a lot in the language learning process.